A rising number of New Yorkers are on shaky ground when it comes to holding on to their homes.

With unemployment climbing, the number of city homes in some stage of the foreclosure process hit 2,517 in July, a nearly 15% jump compared with both the previous month and July 2008, according to stats released today by foreclosure listing firm RealtyTrac.

“The foreclosure problem in New York City is not over,” said Daren Blomquist, a spokesman for RealtyTrac.

The increase in foreclosures follows a lull, when a state law requiring lenders to give homeowners an extra 90 days notice before starting foreclosure proceedings helped slow the pace. Now, the effect of that law is waning.

“The legislation created a dam, but now that dam is overflowing,” Blomquist said.

Even so, New York City is still in far better shape than the rest of the country.

One in every 355 American homes received some form of foreclosure notice last month, either a letter of default, a scheduled auction or bank repossession. Citywide, the rate was one in every 1,321 homes.

Queens, once again, had the most foreclosures overall, 939, up nearly 11% from June and up about 1% from a year ago.

Staten Island had the highest foreclosure ratio, with one in every 667 homes in trouble. The total number in the borough was 267, up 6% from June, but down 8% from July 2008.

Manhattan, which is dominated by co-ops and condos and historically has had the fewest foreclosures in the city, saw a surge. The number of homeowners at risk hit 319. While still relatively small, it was a nearly five-fold jump compared with the previous month and July 2008.

Of the types of foreclosure notices received citywide, the biggest increase was in default notices. Notices hit 2,183 in July, up 17% from the previous month and 31% from July 2008.

“That means down the road, in several months, [these] are folks who could potentially lose their home in foreclosures,” Blomquist said.

Source: NY Daily News